Astemyr Nekhu
Astemyr Nekhu "the Barber" was a guardsman of the Adyghan Guard 54th Strike Regiment, who was born on Imperial World of Adyghan Prime and was sent to the Imperial Frozen World of Blessing to suppress a heretical uprising. Curriculum Vitae Early Life Astemyr was a member of an ancient princely house of Adyghan Prime, the House of Nekhu. Being a member of a renowned and a rather large house and a quite populated nuclear family, Astemyr's chances of stepping out of his lot was not high, yet much was expected of him due to simply being the member of such a house. Yet whatever he did, it did not seem enough nor significant in the eyes of the elders of the house. This pushed Astemyr to become more and more reckless each after his every failure, instead of making him give up. As soon as he grew old enough to ride on a horse, swing a blade and shoot a solid-projectile gun, he took to the wilds every single day, chasing his elder brother's and their friends' hunting parties - tagging alone from a distance to keep up with them in the eyes of his elders but keeping a distance so that he does not get noticed by them and get sent back. This often got him into trouble as they would indeed run into bands of Gretchins, groups of a few Feral Orks or troupes of Beastmen. He managed to pick off quite a few of the smaller and more cowardly of those foes who managed to circle around or succeeded to flee from the hunting party. But he got a few scars from them as well. As he grew older, he began picking on larger foes, a larger grot, a small Ork, a 'boy', a few boyz and so on. Yet nothing seemed to satisfy his elders. And he kept growing ever more reckless. Trying to take whole roaming bands, acquiring nigh-deadly scars each time he went out. With each time, his body became more scarred and harder to look at; however, his wounds healed and his musculature kept its form, leaving the damage only on the visible skin. And yet, it was not enough for the elders. Where everyone is aspiring to be a hero, no one can become one. Then came his age of mandatory military service in the Adyghan Prime PDF, as all young men who reach the age of 20 must serve. He saw this as an opportunity to impress his elders and was eager to find the conscription office before they came to him. Conscription Being a mere conscript in the PDF was nothing like he expected, he felt like a fish taken out of the water. His social class did not matter, the watchful eyes of his relatives were no longer there and thusly he realised how lucky he was even with all the 'hardships' he used to have. He was made very clear of it when he got his first flogging after he attempted to make note of his status to his instructors. It did not matter whether if he was of prince, knight, pirate or peasant origin. The only thing that mattered was the rank and since he was a conscript, his place was under the boot of his superiors. He decided that he would be better off utilising the skills that he had acquired during his hunts to climb the ladder in the ranks of PDF. However, he quickly came to realise that his skills did not matter if they were not in coordination with his comrades' and he was flogged for many times due to his incoordination - he always hunted on his own in the past, he was hardly a team player. But in a few months, his instructors and superiors managed to beat it into him and made him into a proper soldier. Coming from a princely house, he had an inborn ability to lead, thusly he became the squad leader. Unbeknownst to him, a few more months, he entered the list of next haul of Adyghan Guard conscripts - his intent to join the PDF took him far more away than he had anticipated. By the time he'd learned his fate, he had mixed feelings about it and could not help but feel partly sad and surprised - he only wanted to impress the elders of his house. But maybe this would be the way that they will be pleased with him - getting enlisted by the Imperial Guard is considered a great honour to both the individual and his community. He met the Adyghan Guard and he thought that the standards of the Adyghan Prime PDF were punishing. Day after day they carved a glimpse of the horrors of the universe. They did not sugarcoat it, they did ridicule the enemy. The method was to soak the guardsmen with the painful, ugly truth to wear them down until they prove to be unworthy - most of those who proved to be unworthy with the cost of their lives. But there was one primary flog that outclassed all - a flog that kept them going, a flog that is far scarier than the assigned commissars behind them. It was the flog that their mothers and elders used to keep them motivated with since the moment of their birth: The fear of being called a coward. To the end of their training, each guardsman was assigned to a sub-regiment, some of which offensive while some of which were defensive and stationed on Adyghan Prime. He was assigned to a strike regiment. The Adyghan Guard 54th Strike Regiment which was due being sent off-world, to an Ice World named Blessing. The Privates were allowed to say one last goodbye to their relatives and loved ones under the supervision of the Guard. His mother, his brothers and sisters and even his father came to see him one last time. His mother and sisters hugged and caressed him in tears. His brothers manhandled him with love and bid farewell. His father said a dry goodbye, as it was expected - it was enough affection from him for Astemyr. With that, he departed the station in a shuttle and embarked the Faring to Blessing Interstellar travel was something completely different than he anticipated to him and the rest of his comrades. The constant humming of the engine, various mechanical noises that wake them up mid-slumber, chaotically and inconceivably shifting artificial gravity and so on. They were not allowed to leave the part of the ship that was designated for them which they executed most of their drills and raining, nor they were allowed to fraternise with the crew members. But out of all the oddities he had encountered onboard, the crew were the most interesting and weird. It was here that first time he had seen violet eyes, skin colour as pale as snow and limbs thin as sticks. Their speech was far more different and obscurer than the standard Terran Low Gothic that he was taught. However, despite his curiosity, he followed orders and kept to himself and so did they. During the seventh week of their Warp travel from Adyghan Prime to Blessing, they heard that the Gellar field generators failed in various parts of the ship and thusly they were dispatched to deal with a security breach. There were daemons which they were told and perceived as some kind of Xenos or mutants that managed to board the ship with a purplish-reddish-pinkish glow to them. They managed to hold off the threat until the protective barrier was recovered. From what he understood from the crew's chatter, that was something they called Warp phenomena, something more serious than just any Xeno invasion or mutant infestation. For the rest of the journey, those filths that they had slain were gone but left unusual phenomena behind them, such as perpetually lit candles and never-drying inkwells with nothing attached to their bottom, never-cleaning filth which gets filthy back again as quickly as it is being swept from the floor. The rest of their journey which lasted another few weeks were uneventful. Civil War By the time that they had arrived, the small uprising had already been devolved into a planet-wide civil war. Astemyr was 21 years old when the regiment had arrived; there, he fought on countless fronts against the insurgents in the name of the Emperor for five years with his under-equipped brothers-in-arms, each front leaving less and less familiar faces in his company, until the point when there were not enough men from the 54th to merge them with another platoon or unit from their regiment. The details of events he had been through are largely unknown but it is certain that they took the toll from his nerves, leaving him damaged with a form of post-trauma stress disorder. Post Trauma After the civil war ended with the aid of a regiment which came to reinforce the Blessing from Tallarn, Astemyr was assigned to the local guard. Mostly getting assigned to a different squad each mission, he had to develop a charismatic side. He also found solace in thinking about how the universe works, why things are the way they are. It was even more solacing when he found out that the local guardsmen enjoyed his speeches and explanations to the universe. A few years into his service after the last civil war, his duty as a barber in his previous unit was recognised by his superiors and he was allowed to continue that duty as it was a service that was valued and respected in most Imperial Guard regiments. After a few years as a barber, he got the alias "The Barber", it did not take him too long to stick with it due to unusuality of his name to the locals. Now, he has been continuing to serve for 19 years, reaching the rank of corporal. Although he is old and under-promoted compared to his old age by the Imperial Guard standards, he does not look it and even is as potent as he was ten years ago, if we discount his moments of PTSD, which he now somewhat has gained control over. He enters a state which his fellow guardsmen call "his meditation", in which he does not hear nor see anything but his own thoughts, sometimes caressing the hilt and pommel of his dagger and sword, stares into the abyss - a rather calm and silent paroxysm of PTSD. It has not caught him in an inopportune time yet, maybe he can control when and where as well, going in while he can in order to let it out. At other times, he is the voice of reason in the platoon, an example of discipline and a proper soldier. Agent Minoris --Category:Warhammer 40k Category:Warhammer 40k Characters Category:Imperium Category:Imperial Guard Category:Adygh